HRSA awards over $4 million to strengthen organ donation and transplantation

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) today announced more than $4 million in grants to help identify effective strategies for increasing organ donation and transplantation.

“By supporting these projects, we hope to make a real difference in helping to develop innovative ideas to increase public awareness of the need for organ donation, while advancing medical knowledge in support of transplantation," said HRSA Administrator Mary K. Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N.

The funds are awarded under three programs administered by HRSA’s Division of Transplantation:

The Social and Behavioral Interventions to Increase Solid Organ Donationprogram ($1,661,976), which funds research projects to implement and evaluate promising strategies and approaches for increasing organ and tissue donation registration or for increasing knowledge about living donation.

The Public Education Efforts to Increase Solid Organ Donation program ($1,311,555), which funds projects that replicate successful strategies or models for increasing organ and tissue donation registration or for increasing knowledge about living donation.

The Clinical Interventions to Increase Organ Procurement program ($1,095,181), which funds projects involving highly promising research into improvements in clinical management of deceased organ donors. Funding for 2011 focuses on multicenter donor management research protocols resulting in improvement in organ quality, post-transplant recipient outcomes, and increasing the number of organs transplanted per donor.

“At no time has the need for organ donation been greater. With more than 112,000 people awaiting an organ, advancing these programs represent cherished opportunities to change a life forever,” noted HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Howard K. Koh, M.D., M.P.H.”

The Health Resources and Services Administration is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HRSA is the primary Federal agency responsible for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable. For more information about HRSA and its programs, visit www.hrsa.gov.